These two chapters focus on three generations of Schlieremacher (Slaymaker) families that illustrate the struggle that reform minded protestants faced in Catholic central Europe and France. The men were theologians who had a significant impact on religious philosophy and doctrine. They moved communities from one country to another in the middle of the night, to […]
Pictured above: The Weiherman Family Farm (DeKalb County) The Weiherman Family history is under construction. Lineage needs to be charted, connections refined, immigration established and records organized. The Table of Contents (see below) will begin to fill as data, pictures, trees and stories are added. Participation in this project is welcome. A big thank you to […]
CHAPTER 1 IN THE BEGINNING: 1663 The first thing you need to know is that I did not begin this journey looking for Peter Smith at Round Hill, North Carolina living an aristocrat’s life on a plantation full of slaves. I was looking for Peter Smith, Posey, Indiana: a British soldier under the command of British […]
1638: St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland Jenny Geddes sat, perched on her three legged stool on the vast floor of the Presbyterian cathedral. The few pews of the palatial church were occupied by the wealthy aristocrats of the community, a forerunner of the luxury boxes found in today’s great American arenas. Geddes was surrounded by […]
The Smith Family Pedigree Chart With Links to Various Branches 1550-2016 Steve Smith son of James Donald Smith (1922-2003) and Doris Weiherman (1923-1978) Doris Weiherman daughter of John Weiherman (1890-1945) and Laura Kopfer (1893-1981) 2. James D. Smith son of Lebanon Ferris Smith (1883-1972) and Mary Ann Hughes (1884-1979) Mary Hughes daughter of John Benedict […]
It is interesting to note that my Irish and German ancestors arrived simultaneously during two waves of immigration that marked the fifth thru seventh decades of the 19th century– the 1840s thru 1870s. The migration of a European family could be driven by religious, economic or political reasons. Personal reasons could also factor in to […]
John George Weiherman was born September 22, 1863 in Thunhofer, Ansbach, Bayern. We will refer to him as George to set him apart from his son and our grandfather, John. George married Christiana Johanna Huebsch, born January 4, 1859 in Dentlein, Ansbach, Bayern. The Census Report in 1900 identified him as George, a farmer who […]
I will introduce the basic biographical sketch info but this page will come alive when we add our memories of Grandma Laura (third face from the left in the photo below). Laura Clara Lena Kopfer was born on September 4, 1893. She died on August 27, 1981. She was the second of seven children born to […]
My grandfather John Mathias Weiherman, was born on October 15, 1890 in DeKalb County, Illinois. Names changed as Europeans came to America: Johann became John, Mathias would become Matthew. He was the son of George Weiherman and Christiana Huebsch. George was straight out of Thunhofer, Ansbach, Bayern. Christiania hailed from Dentlein, Ansbach, Bayern. Notice that I have […]
Frederick William (“Chief”) Weiherman was born in 1894. He was a brother to my grandfather, John Weiherman. That would make him a great uncle to those of us who descend from John and Laura Kofper Weiherman. Together, John and Chief, grew up in DeKalb County, Illinois, with their siblings. While John remained with the family farm […]